It Happens All the Same
by KeganHorse
Summary: SasuSaku Month '14 drabbles that gradually tell the story of life in Konoha during the year after the war. Chapter 1 - Weeping Cherries, One Month Later.
1. Day 1 - The Smell of Fresh Paint

Hi! I have written nearly half of my SasuSaku Month '14 drabbles, and here is the first.

Day 1 - The Smell of Fresh Paint

**Weeping Cherries**

Sakura listened to the muted sounds her heeled shinobi boots made on the sparkly new hospital floor, reveling in the feel of the brand new building. It had been nearly a month now since the end of the war and the hospital was almost finished, all but a few odds and ends. She herself was in charge of directing the young medical interns in their organizing of what files and texts they had remaining, most of which were nearly useless after the destruction of Konoha.

The mound of scrolls threatened to topple out of her arms and onto the freshly waxed floor as Sakura grappled with the basement storage room doors, rattling the metal ring filled with what must be twenty keys of silver and gold. The scrolls were all in pretty bad shape, most halfway burnt or suffering from severe water damage from the attempts to squash the flames.

Finally managing to open the doors, Sakura deposited the heap into a large cardboard box just inside and picked up a small clipboard that hung on the wall above. While the room may be filled with mostly-useless materials, it was still highly classified information and thus only certain people with special jutsu-laced keys were permitted to enter.

Sighing, Sakura leaned against the closed door and slowly slid until she was sprawled out on the floor in an undignified manner, eyes sliding shut as the cool tile soothed her worries. Sure, she was a seventeen year old head medic and the favored disciple to one of the Sannin, but the floor was brand new and clean, it should be fine. As much as she loved her village and everything about it, she really couldn't handle much more of this. Needy interns, an irritated Tsunade and a sea of never ending matters to attend to had left her drained. She just needed a minute to herself.

A sudden crash had Sakura jerking herself into a sitting position, eyes wide and alert. There shouldn't be anyone on this level. The hospital had yet to be officially opened and it was well past the time of night when volunteers and young medics called it quits for the day.

Scrambling to her feet, Sakura cracked the door open and poked her head out into the hallway. Her eyes narrowed when she saw just where the voices were coming from – her office, which she had chosen to be in the basement specifically for the isolation factor. It was just her luck that the sole reason for her office being in an unfrequented part of the building was already being ruined.

The noise continued, whoever was in there obviously unaware that they were not alone. Sliding a kunai from the holster attached to her thigh, Sakura made her way as quietly as possible to the room that was supposed to be her sanctuary. Once at the door, Sakura began to mentally prepare herself for the confrontation. The door itself was heavy and thick, cherry wood carved specially for her as a gift from Tsunade. It would be a shame to shatter it with one of her punches, but she couldn't give the enemy the time to react to the swing of the door opening.

Mentally preparing herself for the lashing she was likely to get from the Hokage, Sakura was just about to raise her fist when her beautiful office door was whipped open before her, effectively saving it from the pile of scrap wood waiting to be used at the village bonfire next week. Despite the situation she was currently in, she couldn't help the slight relief that overwhelmed her now that the door was no longer considered a barrier.

The clatter of metal against the linoleum floor seemed to echo forever down the empty halls after having slipped through Sakura's no longer relieved fingertips, leaving a permanent gauge in the floor in front of her yet-to-be-even-used office.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura stammered, unable to keep herself from taking a step backwards. Sasuke stood before her, the slight widening of his eyes the only indication that he was just as surprised as she was. Since the return to Konoha, Sakura had been lucky enough not to have seen much of her former team mate. Lucky because, when they were together, she couldn't think of a single thing to say, and he was never much help with that either.

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura's attention was drawn into her office, where Naruto and Sai were poised precariously on her cherry wood desk, a gift for herself, from herself. Her earlier surprise at seeing Sasuke immediately turned into anger at the sight of Naruto's dirty shoes marring her perfect furniture.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sakura pushed forward past Sasuke, ignoring it when their shoulders bumped. "Get down!"

"But we're almost done, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, brandishing a large brush with paint all down the handle.

Sakura's eyes followed the invisible line from the tip of Naruto's paint brush to the walls, which were literally covered in splashes of color. The once sterile white environment was now the most colorful room she had ever seen.

"Wha-," Sakura looked from wall to wall, each one filled with unique pictures and designs.

Along the back wall behind her desk, which was obviously Naruto's handiwork, was a large symbol that seemed to combine the Uzumaki Swirl and the Uchiha Fan, enclosed by the giant red circle she herself was known for wearing. Cartoon caricatures of the entire Team 7 – Sai and Yamato included – were also done by Naruto. Having forgotten the many paint related pranks Naruto had pulled when they were younger, Sakura was actually quite impressed with his rather clean work. She was still sure to check that there wasn't any paint drips on her desk or floor, which thankfully were as clean as they were before her teammate's mural.

The walls running perpendicular to the door were like mirrors. Sai had painted them in his beautiful, unique style. Aligned with her desk was a giant cherry tree, at the base of which was curled a small black cat. Running along the wall was a nine-tailed fox and a large dog, heading towards a small man-sized mountain. Above them all flew a large inky bird.

Despite having done it without her permission, she couldn't help but tear up at the amazing gesture. Both of their paintings were absolutely gorgeous.

"You guys," she smiled brightly and looked up at Naruto, who for some odd reason was still standing on her brand new desk and Sai, who was beaming back at her from the corner in that way where Sakura wasn't sure he really understood what expression the situation called for so he just copied her, the most emotionally reliable person he knew. "Why did you two do all this?"

"Three," Naruto supplied, his eyes skipping over her should to where Sasuke still stood, halfway out the door.

When she turned around, Sakura felt her breath stop in her throat. Naruto's colorful collage and Sai's inky symbolic landscape were beautiful, but what awaited her on the wall facing her desk was nothing short of a dream.

Her cherry wood door had been transformed into the trunk of a massive weeping cherry tree, painted on limbs stretching across the the wall and littered with bright pink blossoms, some of which had fallen to the bottom of the wall and mingled with the beautiful green of the painted ground. The rest of the wall was the light blue of a cloudless sunny day.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura was at a loss of what to do, what to say. A month ago, Sasuke had still been an enemy of Konoha, wanted in all five of the great nations for his crimes. Now, here he was in her office, painting a beautiful ode to her. She hadn't even known he was artistic.

"Hn," was all he said before he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Unable to tear her eyes away from the scene before her, Sakura heard Naruto jump down from her desk and walk towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It was his idea, y'know," Naruto said calmly, and out of the corner of her eye she could see a small smile on his face. Sai gave her a quick grin too, a real one, before he slipped out the door after Sasuke, who was still on probation and technically not allowed to go anywhere outside his home without an escort. "Sai was with him when he went to get the paint, and when he said he wanted to come here, Sai figured out what he was doing and called me over."

"Why?" Was all Sakura could ask, her eyes landing on a small spot of darker green nestled on the painted grass, a fallen leaf next to the floating petals.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "He didn't say," Naruto went to the door, about to follow his two comrades. "Maybe it was his way of saying sorry?" And with that, all three of them were gone.

After the hospital officially opened, Sakura found much more of a haven in her new office than she had ever imagined, among the representations of her team mates, the giant pink tree and the smell of fresh paint that lingered in her basement hideout for the better part of a year.


	2. Day 2 - Late

Day 2 - Late

**Difficult Situations**

Sasuke wasn't sure what he had been expecting. Alright, he had been gone for years and while many things have changed, there were just some parts of Konoha that would always be the same.

The perpetual tardiness of one Kakashi Hatake was one of them.

The past few weeks had been spent mostly in the company of Sai, his replacement in team 7. Surprisingly, Sasuke found that he didn't hate the guy as much as he was prepared for. Sure, there was the undeniable tension in the beginning, stemming from Sasuke's injured pride at being replaced by an emotionally stunted boy with black hair and eyes. There was also the obvious distaste that Sai had for him, and while it was difficult at first to understand exactly where this was coming from, Sasuke had eventually figured out that it was due to the devotion Sakura and Naruto had held for him, even after everything that happened.

After the third time of Sai leading Sasuke into a place where he shouldn't be even with supervision and then disappearing without a trace, Sasuke knew that the fake smile he wore just before he pulled a stunt like that was a warning sign. After that, the two had begun a battle of endurance: who could push the other to the breaking point first.

Sai usually won.

At one point, about two weeks after everything in the village had settled down, Sai showed up at six in the morning with that shitty smile already in place with a summons from the hokage.

"I though you didn't have any emotions," Sasuke growled through the crack in the door, the widest he was willing to open it at this time of day. Sasuke had never been a morning person.

Sai had simply tilted his head in mock ignorance and asked him what he meant.

"You're vindictive," Sasuke spat through gritted teeth. "But you smile when you're plotting something."

"What's your point?" Sai asked, his smile still securely in place. He was ruffling Sasuke's feathers already, and it had only been two minutes.

"It's annoying." Sasuke was tempted to slam the door in his face, but something about the replacement's eyes stopped him. They shone with a faint light Sasuke had only ever seen when Sai was with his team mates.

And as though to confirm Sasuke's thoughts, Sai answered. "Sakura. She told me once that a smile could get you out of difficult situations."

"Getting me into trouble is a difficult situation?" Sasuke asked, the mention of Sakura causing his mood to darken even further.

"No," Sai chirped happily. "Dealing with you is the difficult situation. The pranks I learned from Naruto."

And that was about the time Sasuke realized the only way to get close to Team 7 was to have serious mental issues.

Frustrated, Sasuke finally came to a conclusion after waiting three hours for the copy-nin to show up to take him grocery shopping. He was hungry, annoyed and a ninja – a better shinobi than anyone else in this village. He could manage a simple transformation to get some damn tomatoes.

Forming the necessary hand signals, Sasuke watched in the full-length mirror on he wall behind his door as his hair turned a scruffy mess of blonde, whisker marks scratched across his cheeks and bright blue eyes glared back at him in a menacing fashion. He tried to smile, to banish away the very un-Naruto like expression, but the look just became painful.

Whatever. It was still before noon, Sasuke was sure he could manage getting to the store and back without running into anyone who would stop and question the normally jubilant boy. Though, perhaps he had been away from Konoha far too long if he was able to believe that.

"Naruto!" Sasuke froze in place, walking out of the store less than ten minutes after leaving his house. He had been so close, and of course it had to be the pink-haired kunoichi calling out to him. Anyone else, he might of still had a chance.

Choosing to ignore her, Sasuke made to turn the corner and sprint home before she could catch up to him.

"Naruto-kun."

The sound of her voice was stern, but soft. It was a reprimand, but not one she would have used against the dobe. And in any case, that suffix didn't belong to Naruto.

Sasuke turned to face her, his borrowed blue eyes barely visible against his scowling face. It had only been a few days since he last saw her after painting her office. He had expected her to come visiting sooner, but she had continued her absence.

"Tomatoes, rice and seaweed," Sakura peeked into the shallow bag, a small pull at the corners of her mouth. Sasuke tensed a moment before realizing it wasn't a fake smile and she wasn't about to do something awful to him like her trained little robot.

"I should be going, Sakura." Sasuke enunciated her name slowly and without the natural -chan that Naruto never quite grew out of.

"I'll walk you home," Sakura chirped, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt and steering him in the wrong direction. "Naruto-kun!"

Sasuke managed to put on his best impersonation of an idiot after a sharp jab to the ribs from his childhood team mate. Naruto lived a good ten minute walk from the store and just as he was about to think it would never end, Sasuke began to realize something he hadn't before.

While they passed the Yamanaka flower shop, Ino waved at them cheerily, yelling a reminder to Sakura about their plans for later in the day. But just after that, for a split second, Ino had looked at him in bemusement before she smiled.

The same happened when they passed by a small barbeque restaurant where Ino's team mates sat. Shikamaru eyed him instantly and his fixed gaze drew the attention of his gorging companion, who lowered his food long enough to size up the man next to Sakura, flick his gaze to the already disinterested Nara for affirmation, and then continue eating as though nothing had happened.

Sasuke turned to Sakura to ask her how his disguise was so easily seen through and realized that it wasn't him who was to blame. Everything about Sakura shone. Her smile was brighter than any he had seen since their genin days, and the way she still clung to his sleeve but not his arm must have given him away. She hadn't been overly friendly with him like she used to be, and Sasuke was beginning to think that she was afraid of him, but her faith in him was obviously not an issue.

Nobody had asked why he wore a henge, they all trusted Sakura enough to be put instantly at ease. They must have trusted him enough to be near her. Here he was, walking almost arm in arm with the second most powerful kunoichi in the village.

He had to mentally stomp down the voice in his head when it asked him why he had ever left this place. And then again at the sure of anger he felt when he realized that everyone who wasn't aware of his true identity simply saw the beaming look on Sakura's face as she strolled down the street with a sour looking Naruto.


	3. Day 3 - Phobia

Day 3 – Phobia

**Full Moon**

Outside the village seemed to glow an eery fluorescence, moonlight reflecting off windows and storefronts that have been closed now for hours. Sakura curled further into her comforter, the chilled November air finding its way through the tiny cracks she convinced herself must exist in her walls and into the tiny cracks that had manifested in her soul.

The moon was once again at its fullest, shining through her bedroom window as though to mock her. She had been so busy this past month with everything going on in the village that it had been a surprise to her when she woke from reliving the nightmare only to find it there, waiting for her.

Watching her.

Sakura sat as still as she could, willing herself to believe that if she did nothing, the moon would eventually become bored and leave her alone. That it would stop the constant flood of memories. Memories of pain and fear and loss. She could see that it was slowly working. The moon was more than halfway past her window now. She vaguely wondered why she didn't just leave her room and spend the night on her couch, but that would only be running away. The moon would still be there, staring into her life and reminding her that she would never really get away from it.

A sudden rap on the door to her bedroom sent her heart racing. Her first instinct was to duck under the covers, or so she thought until she heard the distinctive thud of a kunai hitting wood and the confused cry from her intruder. The beauty of being a kunoichi was that she was programmed to kill during any emotional state.

"Sakura-chan!" she peeked out from under the thick blanket and watched as the boy stuck his blond head back into her room, the kunai still planted in the wall where he must have been moments before. "Why're you trying to kill me?"

"You startled her, dobe," a voice said behind him and Sakura felt her heart stop and jump into her throat. Naruto she could handle, but did she want Sasuke here to see her weakness?

Sakura dropped her comforter from around her shoulders, glad that she was dressed in a large red shirt and flannel pants. Just last summer Naruto had dropped by in the middle of the night like this and left against his will through her bedroom window after seeing what she wore to bed on hot nights.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked as Naruto fully entered her room and sat at the edge of her bed, averting her gaze when Sasuke followed and closed the door, standing just before it like a guard. She was almost proud at the way her voice held only the faintest trace of a tremor, but it had still been there.

"Couldn't sleep," Naruto said softly, looking out the window when he noticed the way Sakura was sitting, against the wall as though the moon were the enemy and she refused to turn her back to it. "Went out for a walk and found teme here breaking his probation."

"Tch," Sakura heard the sound from by her door, where out of the corner of her eye she saw him turn his head to the side, a displeased look on his face.

"Thought maybe you could use some company as well," Naruto continued, his voice softening even more. Sakura could tell he was giving her an expectant look, willing her to talk to him the way they had for so long, but she couldn't. Not with Sasuke watching them silently from the corner of the room, where the light of the moon did not reach.

Perceptive as always, Naruto sent Sasuke a quick glance before he grinned, noticing how Sasuke's gaze had stopped flitting around the room to land on the small table next to her bed, where the old photo of Team 7 sat.

"C'mon, Saku-chan," he grinned widely, tearing away the blanket and scooping the young medic into his arms.

"Naruto!" She flailed as the grinning boy walked to the door and shooed Sasuke away so that he could exit, though from the look on his face Sakura could tell the stoic man wouldn't have moved so easily if it hadn't been for the threat of her foot connecting with his face.

Naruto hurried down the short hallway and into the small living room of her apartment and plopped Sakura down in the middle of her plush, forest green couch. Wrapping a thin blanket around her small frame, Naruto grinned before he flitted off to grab Sasuke and force him onto the couch next to her. Taking up residence on her other side, Naruto grabbed the television remote and pushed the power button, settling on an old movie that was the only thing on at this time of night other than infomercials.

As it happened, this was one of Sakura's favorites. The story was simple – a plain young woman in love with an aristocratic, aloof man who was actually very deep and understanding but emotionally lost – but the acting was flawless.

It wasn't long into the movie before Naruto fell asleep, his unruly blond head resting on her shoulder. She wasn't sure if he had been bothered by the moon at all. It was very likely that Naruto was just so kind and thoughtful that he realized the problems those around him might be having and sought them out to offer his support.

It also could have been the old black and white movie that managed to put him to sleep.

A slight shift to her right forced her attention back to Sasuke, who she had been avoiding the whole time. Now that Naruto was asleep, it was just the two of them. It was actually surprising to her that he was still on her couch, though she knew he wasn't really supposed to be out unsupervised.

It was also at this point that she realized Naruto's weight had been pushing her closer to her ex-team mate, and now she was all but leaning on him. She could feel her cheeks heat up as she tried to subtly force Naruto into more of a sitting position so she could distance herself from Sasuke.

"Sakura."

Sasuke's tone was quiet and slow, but Sakura jumped nonetheless, pausing in her obvious struggle to move away from him. She glanced at him then, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the deep crevices that marred his brow.

"You don't have to be afraid."

Dumbstruck, Sakura simply continued to stare. However, a few moments later when it became clear that he was not going to continue, she manage to squeak out a quiet, "What?"

The creases deepened and if possible, Sasuke looked more annoyed than she had ever seen. "If Naruto," he began slowly, deliberately choosing his words and seemingly having to force them out of his mouth. "Is the sun, then I am the moon."

He paused, turning his head towards her and looking her straight in the eye. He looked tired, but the annoyance was gone, having disappeared now that he was able to get the words out the way he wanted.

"You have nothing to fear from the moon."

Early the next morning, Kakashi found himself stumbling into Sakura's small apartment, hungover and late for his turn to watch Sasuke as usual. When he was unable to find the ex-missing nin in his home, he had went to Naruto's and finally here.

He was momentarily stunned at the sight, but the smile that lit his face when he saw his genin team, cuddling on the raggedy green couch that Sakura had refused to replace for years now was splitting his face in half almost as painfully as the headache was cracking his skull.

But he didn't mind.


	4. Day 4 - There Was No Warning

Sasuke contemplated digging the heels of his civilian boots into the ground as a form of protest, but decided against it when he deemed the action too childish. Naruto would just drag him along anyways, and the young Uchiha didn't want his pride diminished by showing up slightly concussed and slung over the shoulder of his exuberant and flamboyantly dressed ex-teammate.

It had almost seemed that since their years together as Team Seven, Naruto had managed to clean up his wardrobe a bit. However, Sasuke's hopes had been dashed when the blonde idiot had shown up at his home twenty minutes ago wearing an actual jumpsuit that was such a bright shade of orange that he had felt the need to put on sunglasses. Paired with the long lost goggles and Sasuke had been certain that he was looking at a slightly taller ghost from his past.

Or having a nightmare.

His face was a grimace of pain as he begrudgingly allowed himself to be pulled towards the celebratory bonfire, the one that marked Konoha a completed village once again. As an added form of punishment, Tsunade had not only stripped him of his right to work as a shinobi until she decided he was redeemed, but also of wearing the clothing of his profession. He was in all ways to be considered a civilian, and so he was wearing the uncomfortably drab clothing of a pullover sweater and baggy blue jeans.

"Cheer up, teme!" Naruto beamed at the pouting teenager over his shoulder, the whisker marks on his face bunching together and stretching across his idiotic face. "Just try to have some fun for once."

And with that, the blonde let go of Sasuke's sleeve and accosted the first person he saw with an ear-splitting yell and giant hug. Only, that person wasn't really a person. It was Akamaru, and the giant mutt didn't seem to mind as he howled back happily and started licking Naruto's face with such fervor that Sasuke was waiting for the whiskers to rub off.

Disgusting.

He meandered around the edge of the celebration, unwilling to follow the dobe when he motioned for Sasuke to join him as he continued to greet every single person he knew in turn. He caught a glimpse of Kakashi's wild hair above the crowd but had no impulse to speak to the man who more than likely was making a show of being there while his nose was stuck in one of those books of his.

A young civilian girl sidled up to him, carrying a tray of drinks. She offered him one, batting her eyelashes as she did so. From the looks of the red plastic cup, she was passing around alcohol, and Sasuke decided that he might as well drink a bit while he was forced to be here. Grabbing the cup she held out to him, his eyes narrowed when she purposely shifted at the last second so that his fingers grazed hers.

Looking at her, Sasuke decided that she was pretty enough. Her features were soft and round, curvy in all the right places with a pleasant little nose. But her hair was long and brown, and her eyes too coy for his liking. She didn't even know him.

He downed his drink and then grabbed another as he turned away, any inclination of thanking the girl for the drinks forgotten in his sudden distaste for everything about her. He threw the cup back and took a long gulp as he strode through the throng of people, looking for that mop of silver again, or at the very least the golden spikes of the dobe.

Instead, he squeezed his way between two large visiting shinobi from Sand and ran right into smooth, pink locks.

Sakura had been facing the other way and so when he stopped just short of knocking her over, the tips of her chopped hair brushed against his neck in a tickling sensation. Before he could help himself, Sasuke giggled.

Now, the last time Sasuke had a drink was admittedly a haze. He remembered Suigetsu had given him something strong and then his memory skipped to waking up at dawn sprawled out next to the campfire. Karin was a few feet away, a large bump protruding from her forehead. Jugo explained that Sasuke had stumbled off to find sticks for his imaginary marshmallows, coming back without any but instead the unconscious sensor. Apparently she had followed him, intending to take advantage of his inebriated state. Sasuke had said something about knocking the girl out to get her off him before depositing her on the ground and then passing out.

In the extended moment before Sakura turned around, Sasuke wished that he had remembered that night before he accepted a drink.

Sakura's eyes were wide when she peered up at him, her mouth slightly open in an expression of utter disbelief.

"Did," she stopped, cocking her head slightly to the left as her lip began to lift at the edges. "Did you just giggle?"

They stood there a moment longer, the half smile frozen on her face as Sasuke fought the feeling of dizziness that was starting to set in. Without a word, Sasuke promptly shoved the empty cup into Sakura's hands before turning around and walking away as quickly as he could.

He vowed never to drink again.

* * *

I really did have most of these finished back in July, I just grew lazy and didn't post them. But here I am, finishing what I started. It's never a bad time to develop good habits, right?

anyways, I love awkward/embarassed Sasuke stories. I could see him being a blast when he drinks. When his inhibitions are lowered and we see that inside, deep within that cold exterior is still the goofy, lighthearted child he once was :3

'til next time!


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